


they laughed.

by Koshii



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Comfort, Fluff, M/M, Memories, Recovery, post-Season 1
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-21
Updated: 2017-11-21
Packaged: 2019-02-05 06:49:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12789138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Koshii/pseuds/Koshii
Summary: Will is still recovering after finally coming back from the upside-down, and Mike makes sure to visit him everyday with a gift.





	they laughed.

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Hinami](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hinami/gifts).



> This is a gift for my friend! I love them very much <3 
> 
> This was really nice to write, and I planned it as much as I could. Hopefully I'll be able to go back to the other byler thing. And you may ask, is this person going to write something OTHER than byler? My answer to that? Maybe. Maybe not. Just give it a few months and I might be talking about something new. *cough*IT*cough* (But really it still involves Finn because I just love his characters aoejiwaeawewa)
> 
> Also, the '-'s are sort of an indication from when it goes back to the present after talking about something from the past.
> 
> Hope you enjoy <3

 

   Mike was one of Will’s closest friends, and he was glad about that. He was very kind, thoughtful, and considerate; the traits of a great friend. He was also creative in his own ways, energetic when he wants to be, and a leader if he has to be. Will really couldn’t ask for anyone better.

   On the other hand, Will felt like a useless friend. A small, skinny nobody. A zombie, one that shouldn’t have been given a second chance. He was too weird, strange, and just _odd_. His interests were obviously different from others, and people looked down on him for it.

  Of course, Mike didn’t. 

* * *

     Will had finally come back from the upside-down, and now he would lay sleeping soundly in a hospital bed. It had been a few days since the incident, but it felt like forever. Will was usually alone, seeing as the others still had a life and things to do.

   Joyce and Jonathan were working, but whenever they got the chance to visit Will, they’d talk to him for what seemed like hours. Those conversations would usually last longer with his brother, and he enjoyed them. With his mother, Joyce would just tell him of whatever childhood stories she remembered, even if he knew them like the back of his hand.

   His friends, Mike, Dustin, and Lucas, had school, of course. Once they were finally out, they’d instantly go to see Will. They missed him, and wanted to spend time with him. They would tell Will all about what happened when he was gone, and sometimes Will couldn’t believe it. Telekinetic powers, flashing lights, just anything—it would all amuse him. Sometimes Dustin and Lucas would say something different about the same situation and start an argument over it. Mike and Will would just look at them, chuckling.

   While they watched, Mike would be in a chair, sitting close to Will. At first, Mike would just rest his hand on Will’s shoulder, squeezing it whenever he would laugh or get excited. Will found it to be alarming in the beginning, but he’d soon get used to it and actually find it quite comforting.

   Later on, once Dustin and Lucas decided they couldn’t visit as much anymore, Mike would be loyal to his friend.

   He’d come in one day, smiling nervously now that he was alone, seeing Will laying down with a matching grin. “Hey…Will.”

  “Hi.”

   Casual, yet one of the greatest things Mike could hear. Will’s voice was a bit raspy, and maybe a little groggy, sure, but it was nice. (Cute, perhaps?) He missed him, and once he found out Will was gone, he feared he’d never see him again. But now, Will was back, and grinning at Mike.

   Mike held a small box, and sat down where he would normally sit—right at Will’s side.

   Instead of placing a hand on his shoulder, Mike gently placed his hand on Will’s wrist. It was cold to the touch, but he still felt a warm feeling inside of him. Will’s hand tensed, looking down at their hands. Mike was slowly and calmly dragging his finger back and forth across his arm. (It was weird, maybe, but Will wasn’t going to complain.)

  “I, uh-“ Will looked back up at Mike, who was nervously looking at the box he brought. It was gray, with a dark blue ribbon wrapped around it. Will could tell Mike was the one who tied the ribbon on since it was slightly askew and uneven, the effort was nice though. “I brought you a gift.”

   Will’s face lit up, and Mike noticed it quickly.

  “It’s not much.” Mike added before handing over the box. Will blinked before slowly taking it. Both of their eyes followed it as it went into his lap.

  “Thank…you…” Will said. Mike moved his hand away, letting Will untie the ribbon with more ease and opening the box. Inside, there was a folded note, along with a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. “Candy…?” He whispered.

  “Yeah- oh, sorry, are you not allowed to have candy here? I can give it to you some-“ Will shook his head, “No, no- I can eat it. Probably.” Mike let his shoulders rest, “Oh- ok.”

   Will took out the two items, setting the candy aside and unfolding the paper.

   It read: ‘ _Hi Will, I may or may not be next to you when you read this, but I hope you’re recovering ok! I miss seeing you at school and I hope you can come back soon. I know this gift isn’t a lot, but I plan on bringing better ones! I promise! : )   -Mike’_

   Will chuckled. Below it, there was a messy drawing of Will’s character—or a figure that resembled him. It was shooting what looked to be a fireball at a…Demogorgon?

  “Sorry—I know I can’t draw as good as you.” Mike examined the drawing with Will.

  “It’s good. Really good. I like it,” Will placed down the drawing and looked at Mike. He looked back, “Thank you.” Will leaned forward as much as he could and wrapped his arms around Mike.

   It…felt like coming home, as one might say. It wasn’t a kiss, but a hug. They hadn’t hugged in awhile, so it felt somewhat foreign. The last time they probably hugged was months ago, maybe at a special event. Mike’s shoulders tensed, but soon returned the embrace, holding Will closely. He looked down over Will’s shoulder, smiling.

   Will coughed. Again. And again.

   Mike backed away, worried, “Are you ok?” Will covered his mouth, swatting his hand at Mike, “I’m- I’m fine.”

   Mike didn’t believe it, but wanted to, folding his hands in his lap and fumbling around with them. Will sat there, looking at the drawing again before folding it. He grabbed the candy, then placed both of them on a table beside him. He glanced at Mike, “Hey. I said I’m fine.”

  “But…” Mike huffed, “But you’re not.”

   Will almost seemed offended, “…what?”

  “You’re not- you’re not ok! If you’re ok, then why are you sitting in a hospital bed? Why are you sick? If you were ok, you’d be going to school with us, hanging out-“ Mike pursed his lips, “I- I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell at you like that…I’m just…” His hands tightened around each other.

  “It’s not your fault, Mike.” Will reached his hand out and put it on Mike’s.

   Mike bit his lip, holding back anything Will wouldn’t want to hear. He should just be happy that Will’s back, even if it’s not exactly how Mike wants it to be. He at least _had_ Will, here and now, holding his hand.

   After a bit of silence, they talked casually, Mike describing his days at school and how much of an asshole Troy still was. Will said he wished the Demogorgon would take Troy instead. They laughed.

   Their conversation didn’t last long. A light knock from the doorway, causing the two to see a few doctors. Mike got up, apologizing and leaving. He turned to Will to say bye, but felt a twisting feeling in his stomach when Will had a face of ‘Please, take me with you Mike. I don’t want to be here. You know I don’t, and you don’t.’

   Mike couldn’t do anything except for saying his goodbyes, then walking out.

   Will sat there, sighing as the doctors came up, holding all sorts of equipment. Testing, of course.

* * *

 

   Mike wasn’t allowed to visit for a few days, which made him worried. Joyce and Jonathan just said it was because the lab had to run experiments, and Will might be too tired to talk with anyone. (Like that helped with Mike’s concern.)

   He decided to take the time to talk with Jonathan, getting a bit of advice. He had his suspicions, but Jonathan seemed like an overall good guy. They would talk, talking about Will, and sharing stories of him that the other never heard of before.

   Some seemed like they were made up, as if Will would never do such a thing, but it was probably true. His imagination of the things Jonathan said made him smile. A little Will, dancing around. Will, making a cake for their mother and getting sprinkles all over the place. Will, laughing and playing air-guitar with his brother. It was all nice, but in the back of Mike’s mind, he was there. Will, in a hospital bed, exhausted.

* * *

    “Will!” Mike burst into the room, beaming at his friend. Will looked back, his eyes as wide as they could be. (Mike could’ve sworn there were small bags under his eyes though.) “How are you?”

  “I’m fine.” Will smiled, seeing Mike sink back into his chair, holding another box. This time, it was a brown box—no ribbon, but around the same size as the other one. Speaking of which, the other box was still on the bedside table. The candy was most likely eaten already.

  “Did they treat you ok?” Mike put his hand on Will’s wrist again, like time, but held it with more confidence. Will nodded, taking a quick look at their hands again.

   Mike observed Will’s face, looking for something. Looking for any signs of lies, that he was actually distressed and tired. Nothing, thankfully.

   Mike put the box on Will’s lap, “Not much. Again.”

  “It doesn’t matter. You could get me a penny or a car and I’d like it either way.” Will grinned before opening the box, quicker than last time.

   Inside, there was another paper. And another Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. Will opened the note instantly, ‘ _Hey-hey, Will! Those doctors didn’t hurt you, right? I hope not! It was horrible knowing I couldn’t see you. I talked to your brother though, he told me some things about you! Very…interesting. I’m kidding, haha!’_ Below, there were more drawings. They were colored this time. It made Will laugh.

   It showed Will and Mike, and Mike was holding a sword, protecting his friend from the ‘evil doctors’, as Mike had labeled them.

  “I know- it’s still really bad.” Mike rubbed the back of his neck, a bit embarrassed. He tried though.

  “It’s cool!” Will raised the pitch of his voice, most likely imitating a princess, “ _Oh, Prince Mike, save me from the evil doctors!”_ He said the last words in a hushed tone.

  Mike snorted, lowering his voice, “ _I’ll save you from any danger, my prince!”_

   My prince. That’s what Will was to Mike, and he wasn’t joking. He would do anything to save Will—fight for him, protect him, rescue him, whatever. Just anything.

   He remembered, back during the first month they met in kindergarten, they would sit together on the swings, making small talk. Some kids would walk over and make fun of Will, calling him _‘gay for Wheeler.’_ Mike got off the swing, stomping up to their classmates and confronted them.

  “Leave him alone! He didn’t do anything to you!” They looked at each other before the main one pushed Mike down, laughing at him, “Oh shut up- you’re gay too! _Gay for Byers_!” The others giggled.

   They walked away, leaving Mike to get up slowly. Will rushed to him and pulled him up, “Are- are you ok?”

   Mike gave him a toothy grin, “Yeah! I’m fine!”

   -

  “Mike?” Will looked at him, confused.

   He’d been spacing out for a bit, sort of just going through past memories. They made him smile. He was always protecting Will.

  “Are you ok?”

  “Yeah. I’m fine.” Mike repeated, almost hearing his younger self say it along with him.

   For the rest of the time, they talked again, going over anything that happened at school. Mike also talked about the stories Jonathan told him and teased Will about the embarrassing parts. Will would poke him, whining for him to shush. They laughed.

   Mike enjoyed seeing Will happy like this, he always did.

   Luckily, this time, he was able to stay for an hour or two. While they talked, Will decided to eat the Reese’s Mike had given him, saying it was great to finally have something sweet.

   When Mike had to leave again, his mother walking in and coming to pick him up, he waved goodbye to Will, “I’ll see you tomorrow!”

* * *

 

  “Hi, Will-“ Mike slid into the room, moving into his seat and his hand moving back onto Will’s wrist, “I got you another gift.” He said proudly, holding a light green box.

   Will looks at him suspiciously with a smile, taking it and opening it, inside there’s again, a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, and a paper. “Oh.” Both of their smiles turned down. “I’m not allowed to eat this. They told me after they saw the wrapper in the trash.” Will took out the orange candy and handed it back to Mike.

  “Oh- that’s my fault. I’ll keep that in mind.” Mike said, taking the wrapper.

   Will nodded, and unfolded the paper, _‘Will the Wise! I return with a message from your party! Well, a drawing.’_ He looked, there were two messy, lazily drawn figures.

  “Dustin and Lucas drew those. They wouldn’t stop arguing over who gets to use what colors and how the other person’s drawing sucked.”

    To be honest, both of them looked like rainbows that tried to take on a different shape. The colors were just all over the place and they didn’t look too well together. Were these…drawings of themselves? Will can’t even tell. “Don’t tell them I said this, but,” Will looked at Mike, smirking, “They both equally suck.” They laughed.

  “I’m kidding, sort of, but just thank them, it’s really nice of them.”

  “Totally.” Mike thought for a second, “Hey- remember that one time when they were fighting over chocolate pudding?-“

  “-and while they pulled it back and forth they accidentally flung it onto a girl passing by?” Will finished. “Yeah, yeah!”

   They continued to talk about their friends and all the hilarious, dumb things they did. Surprisingly, but not surprising at all, there were a lot of moments like that. Some of them didn’t end up that great, but they didn’t talk about those times.

   One of them that they wouldn’t ever want to speak of again was when they had a snowball fight one winter. It was Dustin and Mike versus Lucas and Will. They took their games seriously, but Dustin and Lucas were a bit too serious. They would pack a whole bunch of snow into a large snowball, bigger than the ones they usually used, and fire them harshly at the other. At some point, they were silent, waiting for the other to attack. Will sat with Lucas behind their small wall, smirking and holding their ‘weapons’. Will decided to peak up first with a joyous grin, throwing his snowball. He missed. And in return, got hit hard with one of Dustin’s snowballs.

   The sound it made was concerning, it wasn’t a soft, ‘pomf’, rather, it was if it were Dustin had just thrown a rock. And it sure felt like one to Will. The smaller boy stumbled back, holding his temple which is where he got hit, before falling into the snow.

   The others rushed over, Mike shouting at Dustin, “What the hell did you throw?!” Turns out, it was a rock. Packed inside layers of snow. Dustin hadn’t meant for it to hit Will, but Mike was still infuriated that he even decided to try using something other than snow—that was breaking a huge rule.

  While Will recovered inside Mike’s house, Lucas and Mike were both giving Dustin death glares, and oh, if looks could really kill. Eventually, Dustin and Lucas had a pretty heated argument. Mike didn’t pay attention to what they were saying though, and just kept his eyes on Will.

   Afterwards, they just agreed to never talk about it again. And they haven’t.

   -

  “Mike-“ Will yawned, “shouldn’t you be doing your homework or something?”

  “I think I’d rather spend time with you.” Mike smiled. Will gave him a tired look, “Oh, please. Just bring your bag next time, ok?”

  “Alright, fine.”

* * *

    Mike listened to Will. He brought in his backpack the next day, holding the straps tightly as he practically bounced into the room. To his surprise, Will was sitting up, legs dangling over the side of the bed.

  “Hi, Mike.” Will greeted. Mike waved, smiling as he placed down his bag and pulled out a small, white box.

  “Hey- so,” Mike stood in front of Will, holding the box out to him, “I have an idea for today.”

   Will took the box, “What’s up?” He talked as he opened the box, a paper inside. He opened it, as he always did, _‘Your turn!’_

  “How about—you draw something on here. I miss seeing you draw.” Mike said, pointing at a yellow podium drawn on the note.

  “Huh…” Will looked at his bedside table, pulling it over easily since it had wheels, and put the paper onto it. On the table, there was a box. Jonathan had given it to him the day he woke up, there were colored pencils inside. “Sure.”

  “Great! You can draw anything you want.” Mike said, plopping down next to Will on his temporary bed. Mike didn’t want to restrain Will from drawing, so his hand rested on his shoulder. They sat silently for a bit, Mike just observing as Will drew, being careful with what he did.

   During class, Mike would usually catch Will scribbling something onto his classwork. It may have only been in pencil, but it was still amazing. He would sometimes draw so much that it would fill the borders of his paper, and he would eventually run out of space and stare at his creation.

   He’d grunt and suddenly turn to Mike, making the taller boy stiffen up, “Hey, do you have a blank piece of paper I can use?”

   On most days, Mike would, and he’d purposefully bring in extra just for Will. On one day, when Mike was really just out of it, he didn’t even bother to bring in his homework. Of course, he watched Will again, and when he turned to Mike expectantly, Mike shrugged.

  “Aw, really? No paper today?” Will pouted, still secretly grinning, “That’s ok.”

   Mike sighed, “Next time, promise.”

  “Ok. _Promise_.”

   -

  “Done!” Will’s excited voice made Mike widen his eyes and lightly squeeze Will’s shoulder, he spaced out again. His eyes adjusted, finally seeing what was on the paper. On top of the podium, there was a heart—a really detailed one. Still had a cartoon shape, but Will went as far to make it ‘shine’ and have shading.

  “A…heart…” Mike murmured.

  “Yeah, a heart,” Will took a black colored pencil, outlining it, “It’s my love for all my friends, especially you.”

   Did Mike hear that right? “Me?”

  “Yes, you. You’ve been really nice and you even visit me everyday.” Will looked up at his friend, his eyes almost saying, ‘ _I mean it, and you know I do.’_

 Mike rubbed the back of his neck, “Oh, haha- well, I care for you, so obviously I’ll check up on you often.”

  “…thanks.” Will said softly. His mood seemed to change and drop.

  “Will? Did I say something weird?”

  “No- I’m just- thinking.”

  “About?”

   Will sighed, “I didn’t mean to change the mood so quickly. It’s just been on my mind, so I’ve been trying to stay more awake and happy…I’ve just been having some nightmares…”

   Mike’s hand slid down from Will’s shoulder to his wrist, like always, “Do you…want to talk about them?”

   Will nodded, “I’m…still in this room when I have these nightmares…it seems normal at first, and I’m waiting for you to come, but the lights start flickering and I hear nothing but screeching from the hallways. My…my heart,” Will’s breathing seemed to quicken, “My heart started to race…and I wanted to run so bad, I really did. And things just got worse when I heard the door burst open. It would break…then- the t-thing- the-“

   Mike leaned onto the smaller boy, silently comforting him, telling him to stay calm.

  “The…” Will took a deep breath, “Demogorgon…it’d run in and jump at me—that’s when I would wake up, screaming and shaking. The doctors would come in, then there would be endless testing, and I don’t get to sleep until they’re done, which takes a long time…”

   To prove his point, Will yawns.

  “Well,” Mike starts, trying to have an upbeat voice, “if you ever have that dream again, try to think of me—or anyone—coming in at the last second and just bashing it right in the head. It can be super cool, like maybe they have a sword or a wand, and just completely destroy the son of a-“

  “-gun.” Will stays silent before snorting.

   Mike does the same. And they laughed.

* * *

    Mike wasn’t here yet.

   It had been ten minutes since his usual arrival and Will worried, he didn’t forget to come today, right? No, of course not, maybe something just came up at school.

   Will’s worry built up just as fast it left, now seeing the door open, “Hi- I’m sorry for taking a bit longer than normal.”

   Mike flopped into his chair, letting his bag fall off his shoulders and onto the floor next to him. In his hands, there was a red box. Small, but slightly bigger than the rest.

   Instead of Mike handing it over, Will turned, sitting at the edge of the bed now, and slowly took the gift from his hands. Mike looks down, making Will slightly confused, “I hope you…like it.”

  “I’m sure I will,” Will said, not even taking a second to pull out the paper and reveal the drawing inside. The one thing that was written on it was, ‘Together’.

   The paper was fully colored. There was obviously a lot of effort put into this. As Will looked at every detail, he could feel his heart jumping. It showed a grassy hill with a dark, night sky that had small stars, twinkling everywhere. At the top of the hill, there were two people, Mike and Will. Mike was in the outfit he wore yesterday, a blue jacket and jeans, while Will was in his hospital gown. They were big enough to see that Mike was holding Will’s wrist, like he always had been here. It showed their backs, them staring out into the distance.

   Will felt almost flushed, “Y-you…made this?”

  “Huh? Oh- yeah. I did...is it…bad?” Mike gulped, his face having a light pink spread across it. Will smiled, so much it most likely hurt, and made eye contact with the taller boy. He reached out and grabbed Mike’s hand, holding it firmly, “I love it.”

  “Really?” Mike folded his hand onto Will’s. “Really. I…I’ve never had anyone draw something like this for me before…it means…a lot…”

  “That’s…a relief, actually. I stayed up for awhile, trying to fill in every last spot I could,” Mike cleared his throat, “And when I say, ‘together’, I don’t really…mean it in a romantic way. I just want us to be together, in general.”

  “I get it, and I want us to be together too—not in a romantic way either. I think.”

   …

   They laughed.


End file.
